From Ice Castles to Adventure Suites and everything in between - New Hampshire offers something for every type of traveler. Below is a sampling of what’s new in New Hampshire.
What’s New To Do
Ice Castles
Ice Castles in North Woodstock has added an enchanted winter forest walk this season that will take visitors past a variety of ice sculptures and frozen elements. This new feature is in addition to the horse-drawn sleigh rides introduced last season and of course, the fairy tale frozen experience for which Ice Castles is known. This winter, Ice Castles will feature caves, maze-like tunnels, crawl spaces, slides, fountains, thrones, and frozen archways and towers all built by hand and made entirely from ice. At night all the fun features of this winter playground are illuminated by color-changing LED lights that twinkle and dance in sync to a whimsical musical soundtrack.
Living Shores Aquarium
Living Shores Aquarium, located at Story Land in Glen, NH is an indoor walk through adventure that allows the whole family to discover the wonders of the ocean year-round. The aquarium includes over 32,000 sq. ft. of interactive tide pools, exhibits, and immersive activities. See otters, touch stingrays, interact with tropical birds and so much more. Guests can learn about the widespread oceans and native New England Lakes in a fun, interactive environment. The aquarium experience also includes a digital sandbox where kids can dig and discover marine life living on New England’s beaches and a drawing station where they can bring their own sea creatures to life and see how they move through the ocean in their habitat.
Bretton Woods
Bretton Woods has introduced New Hampshire’s first eight-passenger Gondola that travels at 1,200-feet per minute. In addition, construction on a 16,000 square-foot on-mountain dining-and-event venue is underway with an anticipated open date of summer of 2020. The space is positioned to be one of the premier wedding and event venues in New England with unsurpassed views of the Presidential Mountain Range.
Theater in the Wood
Theater in the Wood’s new Winter Entertainment Series is a musical and comical lineup of talented artists from all over New England. This new line up of live entertainment is scheduled for Saturday evenings from January 18 through April 6.
Strawbery Banke
Strawbery Banke in Portsmouth will be opening a new exhibit in June on how sea level rise is affecting historic places, including the South End neighborhood of Portsmouth where the museum is located. The exhibit, "Water Has a Memory" shows both increasing threats and damage to museum buildings from groundwater and King Tide flooding and real time instrumentation providing tracking data to help find solutions.
What’s New To Eat
T-Bones Opening
The Great NH Restaurants will mark the opening of their sixth T-BONES location at 406 South Main Street in Concord located off exit 12 on I-93 alongside the new TRU Hotel. At 9,900 sq. feet, the restaurant will be their largest with 275 seats and a 35-seat patio.
What’s New – Hotels & Resorts
Adventure Suites
Adventure Suites in North Conway has opened a new bar, spa and restaurant. Like the rest of the property, the restaurant and bar offers festive theming unlike most traditional hotels and venues. The Gringo Bar features warm Mexican colors and decor, and space for groups of up to 80 people. The White Horse Saloon has a hand-hewn wooden bar with views to the Moat Mountains along with outdoor seating. The spa features unexpected design touches. The four oversized foot-soaking chairs are positioned in front of a wall of windows and rest on a mosaic flooring featuring a martini glass. And yes, guests can soak and enjoy an adult beverage from the bar.
Wildcat Inn & Tavern
New this year at the Wildcat Inn & Tavern, guests can stay in The Igloo Lodge. This former icehouse has been rebuilt from the ground up. Featuring three bedrooms, two full baths, private gas outdoor fire pit and full kitchen, this lodge is the only accommodation of its kind on the storied Jackson, NH loop, located through the Honeymoon Covered Bridge.
White Mountain Hotel & Resort
The White Mountain Hotel & Resort has announced plans for an expansion of the hotel that will feature 40 new superior guest rooms and suites, a new ballroom featuring over 3,000 sq. ft. of meeting and function space, plus a new club house and pro shop for the Hales Location Golf Course. The new ballroom will accommodate weddings and meetings for up to 220 guests and once completed will be the largest ballroom with an unobstructed view in the area. The hotel plans to break ground in spring 2020 with a targeted opening date of June 1, 2021.
TRU Hotel
This spring, Duprey Hospitality will be opening the Tru by Hilton in Concord. . The four-story, five-room hotel promises guests a simplified and spirited stay, grounded in value. Guests will notice a modern and functional feel, offering social connectivity with reimagined public spaces including an open lobby comprised of four areas where guests can work, play, lounge and eat.
Omni Mount Washington
The Omni Mount Washington, a favorite New England retreat of presidents, poets and celebrities, offering New Hampshire’s largest ski area, will be developing approximately 70 new guest rooms in the Presidential Wing. These luxury rooms will boast private balconies with superior mountain views and will be ideal for family vacations, romantic retreats or a getaway with friends. The space will welcome the addition of a central concierge lounge, featuring morning coffee service and a state-of-the-art business center.